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Latest news and features from theguardian.com, the world's leading liberal voiceen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015Sun, 02 Aug 2015 20:37:36 GMT2015-08-02T20:37:36Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015The Guardianhttp://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttp://www.theguardian.com
Mexican photojournalist found dead was likely tortured, activists sayhttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/02/mexican-photojournalist-killed-ruben-espinosa-tortured
<ul><li>Ruben Espinosa was found dead along with four others in Mexico City</li><li>Photojournalist suffered severe facial injuries, says free press advocate</li></ul><p>A photojournalist <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/02/mexican-photojournalist-ruben-espinosa-found-dead-in-capital">who was found dead in Mexico City</a> after he fled harassment in his home state appears to have been tortured before he was shot dead, the head of a free press advocacy group said on Sunday.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/02/mexican-photojournalist-ruben-espinosa-found-dead-in-capital">Mexican photojournalist Ruben Espinosa among five found dead in capital</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/02/mexican-photojournalist-killed-ruben-espinosa-tortured">Continue reading...</a>MexicoJournalist safetyMediaAmericasWorld newsSun, 02 Aug 2015 19:40:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/02/mexican-photojournalist-killed-ruben-espinosa-torturedPhotograph: Luis Barron/APIn this June photo, Mexican photojournalist Ruben Espinosa speaks during an interview in Mexico City.Photograph: Luis Barron/APIn this June photo, Mexican photojournalist Ruben Espinosa speaks during an interview in Mexico City.Associated Press in Mexico City2015-08-02T19:40:06ZBT Sport red-faced after problems hit Community Shield online and apphttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/02/bt-sport-community-shield-online-app-community-shield
• Live streams of Arsenal v Chelsea game fail for some users<br />• BT Sport subscribers take to Twitter to complain<p>BT Sport were left embarrassed on the opening day of what they are hoping will be their breakthrough season after the broadcasters’ website and app struggled to cope with the demand for coverage of Sunday’s Community Shield between Arsenal and Chelsea.</p><p>BT, whose &pound;350m investment in exclusive rights to the Champions League and Europa League for the coming season has upped the stakes in their rivalry with Sky, had offered live streaming of the game online and on their app.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/02/bt-sport-community-shield-online-app-community-shield">Continue reading...</a>BT SportSportCommunity ShieldMediaFootballSun, 02 Aug 2015 17:56:43 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/02/bt-sport-community-shield-online-app-community-shieldPhotograph: Andrew Matthews/PAArsenal and Chelsea battle for supremacy at Wembley, but some BT Sport online and app viewers could not see the action. Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PAPhotograph: Andrew Matthews/PAArsenal and Chelsea battle for supremacy at Wembley, but some BT Sport online and app viewers could not see the action. Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PAGuardian Sport2015-08-02T17:56:43ZDonald Trump backlash intensifies within GOP ahead of first 2016 debatehttp://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/02/donald-trump-republican-debate-rnc
<ul><li>Mogul leads NBC national poll and hints again at possible third-party run<br></li><li>Candidates fire broadsides and RNC chair defends debate participation limits</li></ul><p>Amid growing rancour among Republican presidential candidates ahead of their <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/02/republican-party-us-presidential-candidates-debate">crowded first debate</a> on Thursday, current frontrunner Donald Trump on Sunday threatened to consider running as an independent if he was not “treated fairly” by the party.<br /></p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/01/fox-news-donald-trump-republican-debate">All eyes on Trump as Republican debate nears, but Fox will be the real winner</a> </p><p>All 17 candidates are going to be participating in debate night and I think that’s a wonderful opportunity</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/02/donald-trump-staffer-fired-sam-nunberg-facebook-posts">Donald Trump staffer fired over past racially charged Facebook posts</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/02/donald-trump-republican-debate-rnc">Continue reading...</a>US elections 2016US politicsRepublicansDonald TrumpRand PaulChris ChristieRick SantorumMike HuckabeeJeb BushUS newsWorld newsFox NewsMediaUS televisionSun, 02 Aug 2015 17:47:45 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/02/donald-trump-republican-debate-rncPhotograph: Matt Rourke/APRNC chair Reince Priebus defended the decision to allow only 10 of 17 candidates into the main debate.Photograph: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty ImagesDan Roberts in Washington and Martin Pengelly in New York2015-08-02T17:47:45ZWith miscarriage, there are many routes to shame | Zoe Williamshttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/02/social-media-miscarriage-mark-zuckerberg-pregnancy
Mark Zuckerberg is right to challenge the taboos surrounding pregnancy. But the pressure on women remains intense<p>‘<a href="https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10102276576050141" title="">Most people don’t discuss miscarriages because you </a>worry your problems will distance you or reflect upon you – as if you’re defective or did something to cause this,” <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/31/mark-zuckerberg-wife-expecting-baby-girl" title="">wrote Mark Zuckerberg, announcing his wife’s pregnancy</a>, after three miscarriages. In the open letter, he continued: “In today’s open and connected world, discussing these issues doesn’t distance us; it brings us together. It creates understanding and tolerance, and it gives us hope.” It is not strange at all that the inventor of Facebook would think social media had a new answer to a problem as old as humankind. What would be strange is if he were right: what if that’s true? What if this taboo were to be overturned by the internet? What would the implications of that be, for all other taboos, for all other hopes?</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/31/mark-zuckerberg-wife-expecting-baby-girl">Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and wife expecting a baby girl</a> </p><p>The modern narrative around pregnancy and childbirth makes it more difficult to be open</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/02/social-media-miscarriage-mark-zuckerberg-pregnancy">Continue reading...</a>PregnancyHealth & wellbeingFamilyParents and parentingLife and styleMark ZuckerbergFacebookMediaSocial networkingTechnologyWorld newsSun, 02 Aug 2015 17:18:28 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/02/social-media-miscarriage-mark-zuckerberg-pregnancyPhotograph: /GuardianIllustration by Jasper RietmanPhotograph: /GuardianIllustration by Jasper RietmanZoe Williams2015-08-02T17:18:28Z‘Mark Thompson told me: whatever you do, don’t mess up Top Gear’http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/02/top-gear-jane-tranter-bbc-doctor-who
As Jane Tranter prepares to head her own UK production company, she talks about Doctor Who, her fears for the BBC – and why Wales is like New York<p>Jane Tranter’s first job as head of production for the BBC’s commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, was to sell Top Gear to the US.</p><p>So it seems appropriate that on the day we speak, as she prepares to return from Los Angeles to the UK to start her own production company, that Top Gear, or rather Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, are <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jul/30/top-gear-clarkson-hammond-may-amazon-deal-bbc" title="">dominating the headlines</a> once again.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/02/top-gear-jane-tranter-bbc-doctor-who">Continue reading...</a>Jane TranterMediaBBCTop GearTelevisionFactual TVDoctor WhoCultureTelevision & radioFantasyIndependent production companiesTelevision industryUK newsBBC WorldwideSun, 02 Aug 2015 17:06:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/02/top-gear-jane-tranter-bbc-doctor-whoPhotograph: /PRJane Tranter, left, will be based in south Wales while her partner in the independent production company Bad Wolf, Julie Gardner, will remain in Los Angeles.Photograph: /PRJane Tranter, left, will be based in south Wales while her partner in the independent production company Bad Wolf, Julie Gardner, will remain in Los Angeles.John Plunkett2015-08-02T17:06:01ZMedia Monkey: Jeremy Clarkson, Jeremy Corbyn, and Katie Hopkinshttp://www.theguardian.com/media/mediamonkeyblog/2015/aug/02/jeremy-clarkson-jeremy-corbyn-katie-hopkins
Former Top Gear star’s attack on Amazon, Labour MP lays into Murdoch’s Sun and top job vacancies in political journalism<p>• As you’d expect, Jeremy Clarkson has not always been such a fan of Amazon. Just two years ago, looking bleakly at prospects for Britain’s high streets, he wrote in the Sunday Times that the popularity of online shopping would make them “home to nothing more than charity shops, pizza takeaway joints and Daily Mail photographers, prowling around looking for a drunk girl in a short skirt”. Eventually, Clarkson prophesied, “Amazon and eBay will turn Stow-on-the-Wold into downtown Detroit and cause Hartlepool to drown in a sea of vomit”. But there’s been no word yet from him on the impact of streaming video services on broadcasting’s high street - something underlined by a Times backgrounder under its report on the &pound;160m deal, headlined “Big money digital media are biggest threat to the BBC”.</p><p>• The Amazon Top Gear deal also makes Clarkson someone with a foot in two warring camps, and Rupert Murdoch probably won’t be happy with him. Once Amazon had insolently displayed its willingness to invest heavily in making and distributing video content, Murdoch <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/oct/29/rupert-murdoch-media-firms-unite-streaming-rivals-netflix-amazon" title="">called on the media industry</a> in October to take on Jeff Bezos’s company and Netflix by finding a digital champion (a “competitor”) to battle them. Now one of the biggest names in his newspapers - for all the mockery of him as unemployed post-BBC, Clarkson writes columns for the Sun and Sunday Times, and is the chief writer and figurehead of the latter paper’s Driving section - will be enlisting part-time for the hated online enemy.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/mediamonkeyblog/2015/aug/02/jeremy-clarkson-jeremy-corbyn-katie-hopkins">Continue reading...</a>Jeremy ClarksonMediaKatie HopkinsRupert MurdochTop GearTelevisionFactual TVAmazon Prime Instant VideoBBCSun, 02 Aug 2015 17:03:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/mediamonkeyblog/2015/aug/02/jeremy-clarkson-jeremy-corbyn-katie-hopkinsPhotograph: Van Heerden/Rex FeaturesTop Gear's Jeremy Clarkson, centre, has not always been kind about Amazon's influence. Photograph: Van Heerden/Rex FeaturesPhotograph: Van Heerden/Rex FeaturesTop Gear's Jeremy Clarkson, centre, has not always been kind about Amazon's influence. Photograph: Van Heerden/Rex FeaturesMonkey2015-08-02T17:03:01ZBBC’s rivals aren’t feeling the pinch as much as green paper suggestshttp://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2015/aug/02/bbc-green-paper-sky-bt-amazon-netflix
Results from broadcasters ITV and Sky and big moves from BT and Amazon Prime show corporation is in danger of being left behind<p>Over recent weeks the media story – with a slight diversion for “Lord Coke”, bless him – has been the BBC. First a new licence fee deal, hastily agreed behind closed doors, giving it &pound;700m worth of responsibility for <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jul/06/bbc-pay-cost-free-tv-licences-over-75s-fee-deal" title="">over-75s’ licence fees </a>and an effective budget cut over the next five years of between 10% and 15%. And then the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jul/16/bbc-review-government-green-paper-john-whittingdale" title="">government’s green paper</a> kicking off the Royal Charter renewal debate, asking a string of entirely predictable and perfectly proper questions about the BBC’s purposes, scope, functions and funding. The government document was denounced by the BBC as little short of a full-on political assault – “a recipe for a diminished BBC” - but questions over its size and scale, its market impact and claims that the BBC crowds out commercial competitors loom large. There are issues that clearly need investigation, evidence and debate in relation to the BBC’s presence online, where it finds itself toe-to-toe with a press industry struggling for commercial viability. But what about its impact in the heartland arena of TV – where the big money is spent?</p><p>Conveniently, last week offered a chance to look at exactly how the BBC’s commercial rivals are spending that money, and how well they are doing at generating a return. And what a week they had – profits galore! <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jul/28/itv-profits-up-25-despite-continuing-decline-in-ratings" title="">ITV reported a 23% increase</a> in half-year profits to just under &pound;400m. To put that in context, full-year profits after the Carlton/Granada merger peaked at &pound;360m in 2006 before the advertising recession and the global financial crisis saw them plunge to just &pound;108m in 2009. So with the City expecting full-year profits up to around &pound;830-850m, this is on course to be ITV’s strongest year since it became one company and possibly one of its strongest ever. All that in the face of its worst audience performance in 15 years, reaffirming a long-standing truth about ITV – that being beaten by the BBC in the ratings rarely has bad commercial consequences.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2015/aug/02/bbc-green-paper-sky-bt-amazon-netflix">Continue reading...</a>BBCMediaBBC licence feeSky plcTelevision industryBT TVITV channelITV plcMedia businessAmazon Prime Instant VideoSun, 02 Aug 2015 17:02:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2015/aug/02/bbc-green-paper-sky-bt-amazon-netflixPhotograph: Anthony Devlin/PAThe BBC could be in danger of being left behind by its commercial rivals. Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PAPhotograph: Anthony Devlin/PAThe BBC could be in danger of being left behind by its commercial rivals. Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PASteve Hewlett2015-08-02T17:02:02ZThe D-notice is misunderstood but its collaborative spirit workshttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/02/d-notice-national-security-blackout
Rebranded system balances national security and freedom of the press<p>It is the most mythologised and misunderstood institution in British media, but now the D-notice (later the DA-notice) is no more. “Slapping a D-notice” on something the establishment wanted suppressed has been the stuff of thrillers, spy stories and conspiracy theories for more than a century.</p><p>Unsubstantiated, and almost certainly untrue, was a claim that the real story behind the 1971 Baker Street bank robbery had been suppressed by a D-notice to avoid a royal scandal.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/02/d-notice-national-security-blackout">Continue reading...</a>Press freedomNewspapersNewspapers & magazinesCensorshipMediaUK newsSurveillanceSun, 02 Aug 2015 17:02:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/02/d-notice-national-security-blackoutPhotograph: Philippe Lopez/AFPThe Edward Snowden leaks prompted a review of the defence advisory notice system. Photograph: Philippe Lopez/AFPPhotograph: Philippe Lopez/AFPThe Edward Snowden leaks prompted a review of the defence advisory notice system. Photograph: Philippe Lopez/AFPSimon Bucks2015-08-02T17:02:01ZFuture Artefacts fair seeks to show physical media far from deadhttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/02/future-artefacts-fair-london-physical-media-far-from-dead
<p>Ben Freeman, organiser of London event, says: ‘Everyone realises the internet hasn’t killed the record industry or the publishing industry – just changed it’<br></p><p>A fair celebrating the future of physical objects in media – from books and magazines to records and cassettes – will debut in London this autumn, demonstrating that print is anything but dead.</p><p><a href="http://www.futureartefacts.com/">Future Artefacts</a> brings independent record labels together with art house publishers, indie presses and magazines to showcase how such objects have developed in the digital, pushing the boundaries of print and physical music formats. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media-network/media-network-blog/2013/oct/01/digital-media-physical-innovation">Forget digital media; let's get physical</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/02/future-artefacts-fair-london-physical-media-far-from-dead">Continue reading...</a>MediaNewspapers & magazinesFestivalsPublishingCultureBooksMusicMusic industryArt and designSun, 02 Aug 2015 16:55:24 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/02/future-artefacts-fair-london-physical-media-far-from-deadPhotograph: Bo Ningen/Stolen RecordingsDetail from the hand-printed sleeve art for Koroshitai Kimochi by Bo Ningen, released on independent label Stolen Recordings.Hannah Ellis-Petersen2015-08-02T16:55:24ZIran uses fabricated WikiLeaks cable to smear UN rights rapporteurhttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/02/iran-fabricated-wikileaks-cable-smear-un-rights-rapporteur
<p>State-run agencies and semi-official websites run articles in effort to discredit Ahmed Shaheed</p><p>Iran has launched a sophisticated smear campaign against <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/05/iran-rapporteur-human-rights">the UN special rapporteur</a> investigating its human rights violations by widely spreading a fabricated WikiLeaks cable purporting to show he received bribes from Saudi Arabia.</p><p>In a concerted effort aimed at discrediting Ahmed Shaheed in the eyes of the general public, Iranian state-run agencies and semi-official websites simultaneously carried articles claiming that the Saudi embassy in Kuwait had paid the UN envoy $1m to take an anti-Iran position. It dominated many Iranian front pages on Tuesday and an Iranian official later used the false information to question Shaheed’s credibility.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/16/un-rapporteur-human-rights-situation-in-iran-worsening">Iran's human rights situation worsening, says UN special rapporteur</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/02/after-iran-nuclear-deal-its-everyone-elses-turn">After Iran nuclear deal, it’s everyone else’s turn | Letters from Roan Ruddock and Denis Macshane</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/02/iran-fabricated-wikileaks-cable-smear-un-rights-rapporteur">Continue reading...</a>IranWorld newsMiddle East and North AfricaHuman rightsLawMediaWikiLeaksSun, 02 Aug 2015 16:51:53 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/02/iran-fabricated-wikileaks-cable-smear-un-rights-rapporteurPhotograph: University of EssexFormer Maldives foreign minister, Ahmed Shaheed, who is the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran.Photograph: University of EssexFormer Maldives foreign minister, Ahmed Shaheed, who is the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran.Saeed Kamali Dehghan Iran correspondent2015-08-02T16:51:53ZPeter Jones obituaryhttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/02/peter-jones
Music journalist and author who wrote the earliest biographies of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones<p>During the late 1950s and early 60s the weekly music press was the main source of news and information about the latest developments in British and American pop music. Of the several papers in the marketplace, Record Mirror was most often the first to spot new trends, including the Motown sound and rhythm &amp; blues. Its chief writer and editor for much of this era was Peter Jones, who has died aged 85. As well as his articles, Jones wrote the earliest book-length biographies of both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.</p><p>Always immaculately dressed, Jones evolved a working routine at Record Mirror centred on a lengthy lunchtime spent at the bar of the De Hems pub off Shaftesbury Avenue in London. There, according to his friend and colleague Norman Jopling, when music business contacts came to meet him “he was genial, good company, and, importantly, an easy touch for those precious column inches”. Frequently interviews with artists would take place at De Hems, with Peter taking notes in shorthand. He would compose articles and pithy record reviews on a typewriter that had two sizes of capital letters but no lower-case keys.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/02/peter-jones">Continue reading...</a>MediaMagazinesBiographyPop and rockThe BeatlesThe Rolling StonesMusicLondonUK newsNewspapersSun, 02 Aug 2015 16:07:53 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/02/peter-jonesPhotograph: Public DomainPeter Jones interviewing Ringo Starr and George Harrison. Jones wrote for the Beatles Monthly Book under the pen-name Billy ShepherdPhotograph: Public DomainPeter Jones interviewing Ringo Starr and George Harrison. Jones wrote for the Beatles Monthly Book under the pen-name Billy ShepherdDave Laing2015-08-02T16:07:53ZTributes to Cilla Black, 'Liverpool's Cinderella', pour inhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/aug/02/cilla-black-tributes-liverpool-cinderella-pour-in
<p>Friends, colleagues and politicians express sorrow at death at 72 of showbusiness star who became queen of Saturday night TV</p><p>Tributes have been paid to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cilla_Black">Cilla Black</a>, who moved from singing star in the vanguard of the 1960s Merseyside pop revolution to queen of Saturday night television and then subject of a <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/sep/16/cilla-glue-tv-review-cilla-black-biopic">much-praised TV biopic</a> last year.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/gallery/2015/aug/02/cilla-black-life-in-pictures">Cilla Black – a life in pictures</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/aug/02/cilla-black">Cilla Black obituary</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/aug/02/cilla-black-tributes-liverpool-cinderella-pour-in">Continue reading...</a>Cilla BlackTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioMediaSun, 02 Aug 2015 14:56:30 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/aug/02/cilla-black-tributes-liverpool-cinderella-pour-inPhotograph: ITV/Rex ShutterstockSheridan Smith in ‘Cilla’.Photograph: ITV/Rex ShutterstockSheridan Smith in ‘Cilla’.Photograph: Jane Mingay/AFP/Getty ImagesCilla Black was ‘the most remarkable woman, a true legend’, said Sheridan Smith.James Meikle2015-08-02T14:56:30ZAmazon Studios chief: data isn't everything as retailer looks at big picturehttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/aug/02/amazon-studios-expands-hollywood-imprint-data-transparent
<p>As Seattle-based company rapidly expands TV and movies division, the man in driver’s seat makes it clear that Netflix is not the only game in town</p><p>When it comes to the rapidly expanding TV and movies division of Seattle-based retailer Amazon, you might expect the company that religiously studies customer order histories, when and how people buy, what they’re buying and a slew of other metrics, to bring that same zeal for data to its slate of original content.<br /></p><p>After all, Amazon’s much bigger streaming competitor – Netflix – is famously data-driven, living and dying by what users are watching, how long they’re watching and using that to make guesses about what they want to see more of. As Amazon Studios chief Roy Price explains it, though, when it comes to Hollywood – data isn’t everything.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/aug/02/amazon-studios-expands-hollywood-imprint-data-transparent">Continue reading...</a>Amazon.comTechnologyNetflixMediaUS newsUS televisionTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureSun, 02 Aug 2015 11:30:03 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/aug/02/amazon-studios-expands-hollywood-imprint-data-transparentPhotograph: APJeffrey Tambor, right, as Maura, and, Amy Landecker as Sarah, in Amazon’s award-winning show Transparent.Photograph: APJeffrey Tambor, right, as Maura, and, Amy Landecker as Sarah, in Amazon’s award-winning show Transparent.Andy Meek2015-08-02T11:30:03ZEgypt court further postpones verdict in al-Jazeera journalists' retrialhttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/02/egypt-postpones-verdict-al-jazeera-peter-greste-mohamed-fahmy-baher-mohamed
<p>Decision on Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed rescheduled for 29 August</p><p>An Egyptian court has postponed for a second time its verdict in the retrial of three al-Jazeera journalists, rescheduling it for 29 August.<br /></p><p>The court had already <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jul/30/egypt-court-delays-al-jazeera-verdict">put off its much anticipated verdict</a> last Thursday because the judge was reportedly ill. Another judge at Sunday’s hearing said the verdict was being delayed again because other defendants in the trial could not be brought to the court room from their cells.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/23/al-jazeera-journalists-jailed-seven-years-egypt">Al-Jazeera journalists jailed for seven years in Egypt</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/02/egypt-postpones-verdict-al-jazeera-peter-greste-mohamed-fahmy-baher-mohamed">Continue reading...</a>EgyptAl-JazeeraAfricaMediaMiddle East and North AfricaTV newsTelevision industryWorld newsSun, 02 Aug 2015 10:54:57 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/02/egypt-postpones-verdict-al-jazeera-peter-greste-mohamed-fahmy-baher-mohamedPhotograph: Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty ImagesBaher Mohamed (second from left) and Mohamed Fahmy (third from left). An Egyptian court has postponed its verdict in the retrial of three al-Jazeera journalists, including Peter Greste who has since been deported.Agence France-Presse in Cairo2015-08-02T10:54:57ZMeet comedian Amy Schumer, the sneaky feminist honesty bombhttp://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/aug/02/amy-schumer-interview-trainwreck-judd-apatow
<p>She’s been showered with awards, has millions of views on YouTube and ‘blew away’ Trainwreck director Judd Apatow. Is Amy Schumer the funniest woman on the planet?</p><p>There are two bottles of mineral water in Amy Schumer’s hotel suite and no glasses. She takes sparkling, I have the still, and I offer to find something to drink out of. “Naaah, let’s drink it out of the bottle,” Schumer, the 34-year-old American comedian and actor, suggests. She slumps on the sofa, tucks her feet underneath her and takes a thirsty swig. She’s just come from doing photographs and is wearing an expensive-looking peach cocktail dress; her hair and nails are done. The effect is incongruous: she looks like a girl whose prom date has stood her up.</p><p>Nice dress, I say – mainly because that kind of clothing and conspicuous effort demand acknowledgement. It turns out to be not Schumer’s choice and certainly not her taste. “Does this look hilarious, this orange thing?” she asks. “I feel like the exact opposite of this outfit and nail polish. I feel no connection to how I look visually right now.”</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/jun/28/amy-schumer-comedys-viral-queen">Amy Schumer: comedy's viral queen</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/aug/02/amy-schumer-interview-trainwreck-judd-apatow">Continue reading...</a>TrainwreckComedyAmy SchumerTina FeyTelevisionTelevision & radioComedyComedyComedy CentralTelevision industryComedyFilmCultureStageMediaUS television industrySun, 02 Aug 2015 09:30:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/aug/02/amy-schumer-interview-trainwreck-judd-apatowPhotograph: Ilya S SavenokComedians Tina Fey and Amy Schumer kiss on stage at The 74th Peabody awards ceremony.Photograph: Ilya S SavenokComedians Tina Fey and Amy Schumer kiss on stage at The 74th Peabody awards ceremony.Photograph: Pal Hansen/ObserverAmy Schumer photographed at the Soho hotel in London. Photograph: Pal Hansen for the ObserverPhotograph: Pal Hansen/ObserverAmy Schumer photographed at the Soho hotel in London. Photograph: Pal Hansen for the ObserverTim Lewis2015-08-02T09:30:00ZBig Tech's big problem – its role in rising inequalityhttp://www.theguardian.com/business/economics-blog/2015/aug/02/big-techs-big-problem-rising-inequality
<p>More profits need to be redirected away from shareholders and reinvested in plant, process and people if technology is not to exacerbate inequality</p><p>Look around and it seems pretty obvious that technology has made daily life easier. </p><p>We can watch almost any film or listen to any song at the press of a button. People pay their bills on their mobile phones. Stressed parents get to dodge trolley tantrums by swapping the supermarket run for online shopping. And let’s not mention all that free online news.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/economics-blog/2015/aug/02/big-techs-big-problem-rising-inequality">Continue reading...</a>BusinessEconomicsTechnologyEqualityTechnology sectorCorporate governanceEconomicsAppleGoogleFacebookBooksComputingCultureMediaSocial networkingSocietyInvestingFinancial sectorSun, 02 Aug 2015 09:00:10 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/economics-blog/2015/aug/02/big-techs-big-problem-rising-inequalityPhotograph: Michaela Rehle/Reuters‘The swathe of companies using ultra-low interest rates to fund acquisitions would do better to invest in ideas and equipment.’Katie Allen2015-08-02T09:00:10ZJeremy Corbyn’s Gang of One reawakens the media of the 80shttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/02/jeremy-corbyn-gang-of-one-reawakens-media-80s
The ascent of the veteran leftwinger isn’t just a silly season phenomenon, but an authentic talking point – even around newsroom watercoolers<p>It’s been a long, long trek from aspiration to hope. Count the TV debates, the endless string of <em>Newsnight</em> interviews, the animated discussion programmes. Clip out the newspaper lead stories, the columns, the shock polls. Follow the odds as Jezza surges and Unison joins Unite. Two months gone; almost two more to go. Plus four-and-a-half-years until an election that most pundits currently predict Labour won’t win anyway. Where’s the beef? Where’s the heady mix of impending power and flamboyant personality that makes page one a natural choice day after day?</p><p>There’s something more straightforward: a feeling of editors and correspondents more than usually absorbed by a story</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/02/the-labour-party-and-the-shifting-centre-ground-of-politics-in-the-uk">The Labour party and the shifting centre ground of politics in the UK | Letters</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/02/jeremy-corbyn-gang-of-one-reawakens-media-80s">Continue reading...</a>Jeremy CorbynLabour party leadershipLabourPoliticsNewspapersNewspapers & magazinesMediaSun, 02 Aug 2015 08:00:11 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/02/jeremy-corbyn-gang-of-one-reawakens-media-80sPhotograph: Christian Sinibaldi for the GuardianJeremy Corbyn: not just national politics, but office politics too. Photograph: Christian Sinibaldi/The GuardianPhotograph: Christian Sinibaldi for the GuardianJeremy Corbyn: not just national politics, but office politics too. Photograph: Christian Sinibaldi/The GuardianPeter Preston2015-08-02T08:00:11ZAmazon parks Clarkson on BBC’s lawnhttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/02/amazon-parks-jeremy-clarkson-bbc-lawn-top-gear
The corporation was grateful to have the US company pay for more Ripper Street. But now New and Old Top Gear will bring them face to face<p>There are two subtexts to Amazon’s signing of Clarkson, Hammond, May and the Gear Change team. One is that it emerges almost simultaneously with another signing: of Alex Green, head of Instant Video at BT. So Amazon Prime Video’s fight with Netflix is fully joined.</p><p>But subtext two comes right back to the BBC. So far Amazon and its &pound;79 subscription bundle has been a surprise friend of Broadcasting House. It commissioned another series of <em>Ripper Street</em> when the corporation ran short of funds – then kindly let the BBC have second rights. But now, with worldwide reach and worldwide sales capacity, it will pitch the essential old Clarkson against the new non-Jeremy BBC version – with some &pound;50m global sales at stake. That’s war. That’s gore. And it also raises a spectre the BBC will need to confront. If it can’t beat them, does it then have to buy the Amazon version for secondhand showing, too? Car crash time down Bumper Street.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/02/amazon-parks-jeremy-clarkson-bbc-lawn-top-gear">Continue reading...</a>Amazon Prime Instant VideoTop GearTelevisionFactual TVMediaBBCTelevision industrySun, 02 Aug 2015 08:00:10 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/02/amazon-parks-jeremy-clarkson-bbc-lawn-top-gearPhotograph: /PAJames May, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond: gear change. Photograph: PAPhotograph: /PAJames May, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond: gear change. Photograph: PAPeter Preston2015-08-02T08:00:10ZFinancial Times will now have Rising Sun ethicshttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/02/financial-times-will-have-rising-sun-ethics-nikkei
Being sold to Nikkei brings a Japanese-style code of behaviour<p>The <em>FT</em> has not joined the Independent Press Standards Organisation, or its rival Impress project; it is doing its own regulation thing. And it’s worth pausing over that decision as the Pink One becomes a Rising Sun under Nikkei ownership. Why should a “multi-channel, digital-first news organisation” (the official self description) worry about British royal charters and attendant pressures?</p><p>Answer: it shouldn’t – and won’t. The Nikkei and other papers in the takeover group belong to Nihon Shinbun Kyokai (the national editors and publishers association). That runs total self-regulation, monitored in-house according to various “canons” of conduct, including one that says “member papers should maintain decency both editorially and in the area of advertising; and in their circulation practices they should at all times exercise moderation and good sense”. Doesn’t leave much for rampaging MPs to growl about.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/02/financial-times-will-have-rising-sun-ethics-nikkei">Continue reading...</a>Financial TimesMediaNikkeiPress regulationNewspapers & magazinesSun, 02 Aug 2015 08:00:08 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/02/financial-times-will-have-rising-sun-ethics-nikkeiPhotograph: GettyUnder new ownership - with a promise of 'moderation and good sense'. Photograph: GettyPhotograph: GettyUnder new ownership - with a promise of 'moderation and good sense'. Photograph: GettyPeter Preston2015-08-02T08:00:08ZCelebrity lifestyles for salehttp://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/aug/02/celebrity-lifestyles-for-sale-gwyneth-paltrow
<p>It started with Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop – now everyone from Zooey Deschanel and Reese Witherspoon to Lena Dunham is selling you their way of life</p><p>If you crave the advice of a woman just like you, except with bigger hair, newer jokes and far, far more money, then this is your time. Revel. Revel in the ever-multiplying number of celebrities who are now not just actors, not just writers, directors, models, producers, but also lifestyle brands. Walking in the perfumed footsteps of Gwyneth Paltrow – whose <a href="http://goop.com/">Goop</a> website and newsletter provided such opportunities for gleeful despair as <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jan/30/sorry-gwyneth-paltrow-but-steaming-your-vagina-is-a-bad-idea">mugwort vaginal steaming</a> and the famed “winter detox” (“Keep your socks on in the house”) – we now have Blake Lively and Reese Witherspoon, who have both launched lifestyle brands in the past year. And in the past month <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/jul/15/lena-dunham-to-launch-lenny-email-newsletter-for-young-women">Lena Dunham</a> and supermodel Karlie Kloss have joined them. The main thing they have in common? They need <em>you</em>.</p><p>Adopting a celebrity version of marching around the playground chanting: “Who wants to be in my gang?”, today’s stars aren’t content with creating their own lingerie line or perfume with top notes of “I’m getting to the age where Hollywood starts casting me as my boyfriend’s mother” – they want to wrestle back power one muesli recipe at a time. Where celebrities used to sell products, today they <em>are</em> the product. They are a walking advert for themselves – for the books they read, the superfoods they eat. They are a well-packaged bundle of values and advice. We trust them. If they say we’ll enjoy aerial yoga, or banana bread, or love itself, well… we’ll give it a try.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/aug/02/celebrity-lifestyles-for-sale-gwyneth-paltrow">Continue reading...</a>CelebrityLife and styleBloggingNewspapers & magazinesDigital mediaMediaGwyneth PaltrowLena DunhamCultureReese WitherspoonFilmSun, 02 Aug 2015 08:00:08 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/aug/02/celebrity-lifestyles-for-sale-gwyneth-paltrowPhotograph: Kevork Djansezian/Getty ImagesSouthern charm: Reese Witherspoon’s Draper James site is named after her grandparent. ‘We only get one life,” she says in an introductory video, ‘so let’s make it pretty.’Photograph: Jamie McCarthy/WireImage‘I’ve spent the majority of my life in front of the camera’: Karlie Kloss takes a selfie with her sister Kimberly and John Green, Cara Delevingne and Nat Wolff at the premiere of Paper Towns. She has just launched Klossy, a YouTube channel.Photograph: Layne Murdoch Jr/Getty ImagesLeading the way: Gwyneth Paltrow at last year’s launch party for Goop’s pop-up store in Dallas, Texas.Photograph: Layne Murdoch Jr/Getty ImagesLeading the way: Gwyneth Paltrow at last year’s launch party for Goop’s pop-up store in Dallas, Texas.Photograph: Todd Williamson/WireImageHello Giggles: Zooey Deschanel’s ‘online community’ is a sort of merrily castrated Comment is Free.Photograph: PROff the shelf: Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop is now an e-commerce space and has more than a million subscribers.Photograph: PROff the shelf: Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop is now an e-commerce space and has more than a million subscribers.Eva Wiseman2015-08-02T08:00:08Z